mash tun washers/sealer

hey everyone,
I am building a mash tun from a 60 QT igloo cube. because of the angle and location of the plug i opted to drill a 1/2" hole through the front at the bottom of the cooler, but now i am not sure what to use from food safe washers and or sealant... can anyone make a recomendation for me please.

hey definitly buddy! I remember going through the same thing! I eventually found a rubber grommet at a hardware store and took some Vitamin E oil and......... trust me........... it was a real *****, i didnt even think it was going to work after a while, but i got that thing in........... i cant remember if i used two one on each side. i think i did use two. then slid my tap through the grommet. it was a super tight fit. but the rubber was food grade and there arent really any sealants that are food grade. a guy at a specialty sealant store told me that it was common in the industry to tell people or companies even that certain ones were food grade when they werent. he also told me that he wouldnt trust one that claimed to be food grade. he even had food grade ones for sale, but they were quite expensive. it was hard to garner information on this, but this guy sounded like he was a real expert in the field.

go get a cheap silicone baking dish and cut yourself a washer out of that...

Duckfoot said:

go get a cheap silicone baking dish and cut yourself a washer out of that...

Click to expand...

That is a great idea! I've been looking around locally for silicon o-rings/washers and can't seem to find any. And shipping is way to expensive for some 50cent parts.

You could also use cork, most craft stores carry sheets.

I love the silicone sheet idea, SWMBO has a few already, doubt she will miss one...

Baby bottle nipples are also a good source of food grade gasket material.

thanks to all for all your advice, can't wait for my first batch ALL GRAIN!

well, after some trials with the silicon baking dish idea and some leak bys, i came up with a new plan,.
I used a garden hose gasket(inside) and two steel washers outside to spread the load out over the cooler a bit, seemed to seal well and still leak free..
next purchase a grain mill and a batch of Cream of three crops to come.